


Death's-head hawkmoth

by Aura_B_Writes



Category: Miraculous Ladybug
Genre: Chloè redemption, Chloé Bourgeois Redemption, Gen, Good Chloé Bourgeois, Multi, POV Chloé Bourgeois, Panic Attacks
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-09-12
Updated: 2020-11-01
Packaged: 2021-03-06 14:28:06
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 3
Words: 8,366
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26430391
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Aura_B_Writes/pseuds/Aura_B_Writes
Summary: Death's-head hawkmoth, a breed of moth which are commonly observed raiding beehives.A Chloe redemption fanfic, post-Miracle Queen, in which Chloe's morally grey behaviour is questioned even further as she tries to redeem herself in her own eyes.Primary POV of Chloe but does switch to other characters briefly throughout
Comments: 12
Kudos: 25





	1. The fall of the auxilliary heroes

**Author's Note:**

> WARNING: The tags and description is likely to change, I know where this fanfic is going but I'm not 100% sure how it's going to get there lol
> 
> During the first few chapters, Chloe doesn't have a very good self image often leading to self destructive behaviour and panic attacks. Chapters featuring such content will be flagged :)
> 
>  **TW:** Panic attacks

“I demand you fight again!” Chloe screeched at her parents who replied with an astonished glance,

“Princess…” her father whined, placing her mother back onto the ground, “That’s not very fair of you to say,” Chloe’s eyebrow twitched, her perfectly manicured nails digging into her palms.

“Mommy?!” Audrey’s eyes briefly assessed the girl in front of her, her sunglasses inching down her nose in distaste

“Listen to your father Claudette.” The harsh woman turned on her heels, heading presumably back to the party held in her and Andre’s honour, the latter of the couple eagerly following in his wife’s footsteps, his daughters seemingly rising temper being the least of his worries.

‘ _I’ll have Jean take her shopping_ ’ He thought, a pleased smile appearing at his own excellent parenting skills

“My name is Chloe!” Her voice still managing to raise a few octaves, the shrill tone bouncing off the now closed door her parents had left through, leaving her yet again alone in an empty foyer.

“Mademoiselle Chloe?” Jean Patrick appeared soon after, Sabrina following quickly behind the butler using him somewhat as a shield, having seen Chloe’s anger up close a few too many times, she was eager to avoid it.

“Leave me alone!” The blonde stormed off towards the VIP elevator, hammering the button far too many times with increasing strength as if to summon the box faster. “Ridiculous! Utterly Ridiculous!” She stated as the lift descended to her. Eventually, a small ding announced the arrival of the elevator and she entered, not waiting for her butler or her friend as she hit the button for her floor and watched the doors slide shut, bitterness rising. “How dare they listen to me.” She scuffed the floor with her shoe lightly in defeat.

Once in her room she quickly drew all the curtains and locked every available door and window, even going as far as to shut her laptop and silence her phone, the realisation of her actions slowly dawning over her. She had exposed all of Ladybug’s allies.

“To hell with Ladybug,” her voice coming out as a low growl as she went about tearing down all merchandise of the spotted hero from her walls, pulling dolls off shelves and outfits out of her multiple wardrobes tossing them into a pile, dusting off her hands when her room became sufficiently bug free.

Her anger subsiding for now she peaked out of her room, creeping towards the kitchen with all the grace her years of ballet had taught her, satisfied and still slightly bitter that her order had been listened to, she rummaged through the cupboards, her stomach growling in approval at the girls search for food. Having limited culinary skills Chloe sat at the breakfast counter with an uncooked pop-tart (not trusting herself with a toaster), and a glass of water, not the grandiose meal she could have summoned without question, but room service meant people. People who until about two hours ago had been under her thumb, the thought of which momentarily replacing her growing dread with conceited warmth. The moment lasting just long enough for her to finish her snack in peace.

“C-Chloe?” Sabrina’s tiny head appeared from around the corner, the flash of orange attracting her glare and causing the red head to shrink back slightly, apparently her friend had decided enough time had passed to quash Chloe’s most recent outrage.

“What?!” The word came out coated in poison, clearly not enough time,

“I-I was wondering if you wanted to watch a movie? The party is still going on downstairs, so we can have the big TV to ourselves!” To the girl’s merit, the idea was a good one, the acceptance of such only appearing as a slight smirk on Chloe’s lips as she glided past Sabrina toward said big TV, the other girl bounced in excitement as she hastily plucked the remote up on her way past the coffee table.

“Jean-Patrick?” Chloe’s eyebrow raised in his direction, the butler turning to attention, “Please prepare some snacks and after that, there is a pile of stuff on the floor of my room I want gone.”

\---

“Of course, Mademoiselle.” He bowed happily, seeing Chloe happy (at least her own form of happy) improving his mood immediately, the thought of a destroyed bedroom made him grimace as he stirred the tea, but nevertheless, it was just stuff.

Having sufficiently provided the girls with snacks and drinks he proceeded to his next task, what appeared to be destroying all of Mademoiselle Chloe’s Ladybug and Chat Noir memorabilia, he frowned as he scooped the torn photographs and costumes into a bag. It hadn’t passed Jean’s notice Chloe had been falling out of favour with the hero for some time, the girl unable to understand why Ladybug had stopped calling on her. He guessed todays choice of the dragon hero over Queen Bee had been the final straw. With a sigh he tossed the destroyed polka dots into the garbage chute, decidedly also washing his hands of the heroes for Chloe’s sake.

\---

The movie served its purpose, the remainder of Chloe’s tightness rolling away with the end credits, she smiled down to Sabrina who at some point had fallen asleep, automatically curling up against blonde who hummed pleasantly at the companionship. No matter how badly she seemed to treat the red head, some twisted sense of loyalty had Sabrina tightly attached to Chloe’s hip.

She was just reaching for the remote when she heard a commotion coming from the hallway,

“Monsieur Noir, I really don’t think now is a good time,” her grip on the remote tightened, Sabrina shifting against her and beginning to wake up,

“I couldn’t care what _she_ wants.” Chloe winced instinctively, although Ladybug had always been her favourite Chat Noir was always kind, always willing to stick his neck out to protect her when his Lady’s patience wore thin of the girl. A loud crash startled both girls, Chat Noir’s silhouette appearing in the doorway alone, a part of Chloe wanted to check Jean was okay, the other wanted to run and hide. The way Chat’s eyes glared at her made every muscle in her body freeze, even if she wanted to do anything, her body refused to cooperate. “ _You_.” The instinctive way his right hand twitched seemed to restoke a fire in the girl,

“Chat Noir, what a surprise!” Her voice came out incredibly shaky earning a worried glance from Sabrina, nerves never being something she associated with Chloe Bourgeoir, you could hear Chat’s teeth grind from across the room.

“Ladybug is to make an announcement tonight, renouncing all auxiliary heroes of their duty. She believes it’ll create quite a few akumas. Granted the public will not be made aware of exactly who caused their retirement, the heroes themselves **will** be given that information.” All fire left the girl again, “We anticipate you to be in immense danger tonight, and so we’re pre-emptively securing you.”

“Why would Chloe be in danger?” Sabrina nervously asked, Chloe flinched away from the girl, all the days shame building up again in overwhelming quantities. Chat Noir grinned, a smile full of malice directed straight at Chloe's back.

“Won’t you tell her Miracle Queen?” Her fists tightened at her side,

“No.” She muttered, knowing damn well that cat would hear her. Something confirmed by the humourless laugh he gave while Chloe joined him at his side, unable to meet Sabrina’s eyes.

She wordlessly left the hotel by way of her balcony, her body tensing more as she passed through the kitchen where Jean held what appeared to be an icepack to the back of his head, offering a gentle smile to the girl in passing.

\---

“Thank you Chat.” He gave a small salute to his lady before wondering over to a chair in the corner of the small motel room.

“ _Shit_.” Chloe hissed. Obviously, Ladybug would be here, why had she bothered to hope otherwise, she internally rolled her eyes at herself for being so optimistic.

“Is there a problem Chloe?” Ladybug’s voice came out like ice, this was not to be a pleasant conversation.

“Don’t bother with the disappointment speech, my mother beat you to it years ago.” As always when in an uncomfortable situation Chloe switched to rely on her spite and sarcasm.

“Well clearly it didn’t work! Do you have any idea the danger you put yourself in?! Possibly forever! Or at least until Hawkmoth is defeated!” Her gaze stayed fixed on the floor as the spotted hero’s voice grew louder. “Bubbler? Lady Wi-Fi? Dark Cupid? Gamer? Oni-chan? Silencer? Those names seem at all familiar to you?” Ladybug’s feet came into view, one of them tapping, clearly waiting for Chloe's answer,

“They’re the utterly ridiculous names of all your akumatised heroes.” Her eyes remained on the floor, her tone faltering. Ladybug’s snort echoing throughout the sparse room.

“Oh! The girl does have a brain!” Her words were harsh, Chloe recoiling against them. “Maybe next time use it.” The bug spat, shoving her way past Chloe, their shoulders colliding and Chloe falling, landing unpleasantly on her hip with a grunt.

“You were so nearly a person.” Chat spoke woefully from the doorway before following his lady outside and leaving the girl astonished in a pile.

\---

“Thank you Mayor Bourgeoir,” Ladybug stood for a moment, her eyes scanning the crowd until they found her friends, she’d hoped in telling them all together that she’d give them all a support system, a group to turn to that would understand their sadness. Instead, it appears she’d created a seething ball of pubescent rage. She dragged her eyes away from the group and back to the plethora of cameras in front of her. “It is with a heavy heart I must retire all auxiliary heroes from the miraculous team,” she could practically feel Alya’s eyes burning into her, “Due to an akuma attack this afternoon, Hawkmoth was made aware of all of their identities putting them in horrific danger.” Sharp gasps whistled through the crowd, “I would like to thank Rena Rouge, Carapace, Pegasus, King Monkey, Viperion, Ryuko, Aspic and Multimouse for their bravery and service to the entirety of Paris and its citizens. I would also like to thank Jade Turtle, who in the face of Hawkmoth gave up more than any of us could imagine.” Her fingers dug into the podium, how she craved for Chat’s hand on her shoulder to support her, “Any questions?”

The crowd erupted with shouts and raised hands, all eager to find more information from the hero.  
“Yes Nadia,” she asked, knowing the presenter would be the kindest

“Ladybug, how did this happen?” _How could you let this happen?_

“Unfortunately, the akuma in question had control over everyone in Paris. When all miraculous wearers were summoned, they had no choice but to reveal themselves.”

“Who was this akuma? Surely they should be held responsible for what they’ve done!” She didn’t have to look up to see the tears in her eyes to know Alya was crying.

“Akumatised people are not responsible for their actions, if we were to hold everyone in Paris responsible for their actions, half the city would be in prison.” She pleaded to Alya with her eyes, Chloe may be a brat but having the entire cities populous out for her blood seemed a little too harsh a punishment. Alya looked down dejectedly, Nino’s arms around her shoulders and dragging her away from the conference, flicking an apologetic glance to the heroine. “Next question please.”

\---

Chloe’s nose crinkled in confusion at the screen, “I haven’t heard of half those people,” she looked to Chat Noir, “Multimouse? Aspic? I take it the other turtle was your Grandpa or whatever.” She crossed her arms, growing impatient.

“We decided it would be fair to retire all previously used heroes, no matter what role they held in the team, Multimouse had already been told she would not receive a miraculous again, and giving the snake back to Aspic would spiral Viperion further. Or did you not think about the people under your control?”

“Of course I-“ Her voice stuttered out with the look Chat shot her, “It was like Ladybug said, akumatised people shouldn’t be held accountable for their actions.” The black cat laughed humourlessly, his Cheshire grin not as comforting as usual.

“We both know you knew exactly what you were doing Chloe. The way you jumped after the akuma once we’d taken your powers away. Innocent people don’t do that. **Good people don’t do that**.” Chloe could feel the bile rising in her throat.

‘ _I knew you were one of us Chloe Bourgeoir_.’ Hawkmoth’s words echoed around her skull, the disappointment in Ladybug’s face fixed behind her eyes. Chloe doubled over in pain, one hand clutching her stomach as the other wrapped around her throat, she was going to vomit, she couldn’t breathe, her vision became blurry as tears filled her eyes.

\---

“Chloe?” Chat’s voice changed, concern flooding it, maybe he’d gone to far, he reached out to place a hand on her shoulder to steady her. She jerked quickly away from his grasp falling weakly off the bed and crawling away from the leather clad hero. “Chloe what’s going on? Are you alright?” He rushed out in urgency, voice breaking in panic as his former friend appeared to choke on air. Chat Noir took a few hesitant steps toward her, only to watch her retreat further into the dingy corner. 

\---

“ _Stay away from me!_ ” Chloe could have sworn she’d screamed it a dozen times at Chat as he pressed closer to her (she hadn’t), she couldn’t breathe, she needed space. The bile continued to rise in her throat,

‘ _One of us_.’ Hawkmoth chanted, her fingers curling themselves into her hair as she clawed at her skull, attempting to rip that damn butterfly’s words from her brain, her body shuddered against her will, the uncontrollable shaking making her angry. She was Chloe Bourgeoir. Chloe Bourgeoir did not lose control. It was then Chat Noir reached for her again, the ringing in her ears drowning out anything her was saying, she lashed out against him. If he wasn’t so taken aback by her sudden outburst, he may have avoided her.

\---

As it were, Chat Noir was utterly unprepared for the strike, the slap across his face sending him reeling, and fleeing to the opposite end of the motel room. Quickly, he reached for his baton, figuring this was enough of an emergency to summon Ladybug back, the stick nearly falling from his claws at the sudden call from Ladybug.

“Scarlet Moth is back.”


	2. One of us

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> **TW:** Brief mentions or blood and a continuation of a panic attack

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> This is not a LukaxChloe fic, I promise xD

“I’ve had it with that girl!” Alya hadn’t stopped yelling since Ladybug had come to tell the group the unfortunate news and Luka was starting to get a serious headache, “Does she have to ruin everything she touches? Or is it just the girl can’t be told no?!” Alongside her voice, her heart-song was shouting, off notes appearing at random, her normally erratic melody becoming more distorted by the second.

“I don’t know babe,” at least Nino knew how to control his volume. “Maybe we should listen to Ladybug, Chloe’s been doing better recently… Maybe her parents getting akumatised pushed her over the edge.” Alya turned to give Nino a look of hatred, quickly shutting him up and resuming her yelling, instead Luka decided to stick near the back of the group with Kagami. He didn’t know the dragon well but her quiet demeanour seemed the most appealing. Her song was strong and steady, he imagined it would take something extreme to make that tune falter.

“I think Chloe’s actions were committed with 98.7% awareness.” Max chipped in,

“It’s not like she hasn’t done it before Nino, most of the class has been akumatised at some point over her.” Luka frowned; Kim was right about her track record but that didn’t mean the girl shouldn’t be given a chance to defend herself.

“I wasn’t akumatised by Chloe,” Luka stated, his frown deepening, “I don’t think we should blame her based on what happened in the past. She was trying to do better, that’s what we should focus on. What went wrong. Maybe if we can see how Hawkmoth got into her head, we can stop him getting into ours in the future.” He hadn’t meant to lecture the group, but clearly his words had managed to rile Alya up even more, her song drowning out what little he could hear from the others.

“Well _you_ wouldn’t be emo Jesus. Chloe Bourgeois is far too _mainstream_ for the likes of you.” Luka stopped in his tracks, his hands curling into fists at his sides. Couldn’t she see he was just trying to help? All Luka ever did was try to help and it always ended with him stepped on and angry.

“I’m not sure what his outfit choice has to do with his ability to resist akumas.” Kagami had stopped beside him, her words clipped and to the point, “I have also never been akumatised by the actions or words of the Bourgeois girl. If we want to start pointing fingers, why not start with Rossi?” Luka looked in surprise at the dragon, did she know of Lila’s lies? The smirk on her face and the raise of her eyebrow suggested as much.

“Of course _you’d_ be on Marinette’s side.” Alya spat, her lips curling into a snarl, “Both bluenettes so smitten with Adrien that anyone else is the enemy am I right?” Luka’s eyes widened in disbelief,

“Oh my god, you actually believe Marinette did all those horrible things? I thought she was your best friend?” Luka raised his hand slightly to Kagami who looked like she was ready to fight the girl, and as much as he delighted in the thought of her shutting up, violence was not the way to do it.

“Clearly alliances have changed.” Kagami added, the girl tensing further beside him, Luka taking comfort in the shared desire to protect their mutual friend.

“Uh guys-"

“Not now Nino!” Alya swatted Nino’s anxious hand away from her. “Do you know what? Marinette is just as bad as Chloe! She’s a terrible friend! Always bailing on us with lame excuses. At least Chloe has the guts to stick to the mean act.”

“I really think we need to stop-" Kim tried to interrupt this time, earning a venomous glare from Luka.

“Can you even hear yourself?! The fox is a perfect fit for you. A trickster. We really thought we could trust you.” His voice came out as a snarl, teeth bared fully as he took a step towards the fox, relishing as the girl flinched back slightly.

“Couffaine.” Kagami’s hand rested on his shoulder lightly.

“ _ **What?!**_ ” His anger turned towards her, the girl not recoiling or even looking at the snake when he spoke.

“We’re 100% doomed.” Somewhere off to the side he heard Max’s grim prognosis as he felt the familiar sensation of being plunged into ice water wash over him.

“Oh for fucks-" His voice stuck in his throat as all heart songs became deafening.

“ _Red Mamba, I am Scarlet Moth._ ” Luka’s hands rushed up to cover his ears, his eyes flitting around the group, the familiar butterfly mask oddly glowing crimson around their eyes. Any semblance of rhythm vanished quickly, the groups melodies becoming corrupted by that of Scarlet Moths chorus. “ _You wish to defend the girl you love? I can give you the power to do that._ ” His grip tightened instinctively as he felt himself consider the offer.

“I won’t do it.” His words didn’t even convince himself; he screwed his eyes shut as his previous teammates began to transform around him. A dark chuckle filling his mind.

“ _You don’t seem so sure. Would you rather I call you Silencer? Give you the power to use Lila Rossi’s own words against her?_ ” Luka’s blood ran colder. The brief flashes of memory he got from his time as Silencer only came to him in fever dreams, but they were enough to snuff out any lingering desire to agree to Scarlet Moths terms.

“No.” The word came out steady this time, his anger instead focused directly at Hawkmoth as he tore the darkened bracelet from his wrist and crushed it under his foot himself. He felt his body temperature return to normal as the small now red akuma crawled from the object and flew to join the swarm the others had tried to warn him of.

Luka took a deep breath, slipping the broken bracelet into his pocket he turned his back on his team as the last of them were absorbed in red sludge, succumbing to Scarlet Moths words.

\---

“Are you ready again Tikki?” Marinette held the small bug in her hands in the sheltered alley.

“You did the right thing Marinette!” The kwami could sense her holders’ internal conflict. “By retiring your friends as heroes, you’re showing Hawkmoth that there’s no point to capture them. If he thought they knew anything about the miraculous, they could get really hurt!” She smiled up at her friend.

“I know Tikki, but you saw how hurt Alya was… How hurt they all were…” She shook her head quickly, “No you’re right it’s better that they’re safe. They have each other, they’ll get through this.” Marinette straightened, her confidence returning as her kwami floated up to her face and giving it a reassuring pat. “Spots on!”

In a flash of red Ladybug returned, her yoyo taking her with ease back to the rooftops, she was about to return to the motel where she’d left Chat and Chloe but paused when she heard the rushing of familiar footsteps.

“Ladybug!” Luka called up to her and she sighed, lowering herself to the ground again.

“Luka? Is everything okay?” Her expression softened as she noticed Luka was severely out of breath, whatever he had come to tell her was clearly important.

“He got them all.” Her eyebrows knit together in confusion as she followed Luka’s finger to a swarm of red Akuma. Everything in her body sank, her feet turning to lead blocks in dread. “We have to go.” Before she could process what was happening, Luka had taken her hand and was rushing in the other direction to the akuma. Marinette blushed under her mask at the contact.

Once a sufficient distance away from the swarm Ladybug reluctantly dropped Luka’s hand, “I need to tell Chat, he’ll have no idea what’s going on out here… When you say everyone?” She looked into his eyes; all hopes dashed as he quickly looked away.

“Alya and I were arguing, we didn’t stand a chance.” His gaze was fixed on the floor, Ladybug placed a reassuring hand on his shoulder.

“You made it out?” He laughed humourlessly, taking a broken bracelet out of his pocket and placing it in the hero’s hand.

“Not quite,” He tried to smile, but it didn’t get near his eyes. “He bought up Silencer and I just couldn’t-“ A sob racked through him and Ladybug wrapped him in a hug.

“You got out. That’s all that matters.” He gave the spotted hero a quick squeeze before releasing her and wiping his eyes.

“Call Chat Noir.”

\---

“Scarlet Moth is back.” Chat Noir did drop his baton then, quickly scrambling to retrieve it as Ladybug turned the camera to show the swarm. “It got everyone but Luka.”

“Give him the snake my Lady, I’ll be with you as soon as I can!” He rushed for the door, his Lady’s safety overwriting the concern for his ex-friend.

“She can’t Chat.” Luka stepped into frame a small smile on his face, “If the others saw I got mine back they’d only play more into his hands.”

“Right…” His hand hesitated over the handle still not convinced when a scream racked through the room.

“Is that Chloe?! Is she okay? She hasn’t been akumatised has she?” Ladybug’s words tumbled out.

“I don’t think so,” he took a moment to look at her tear-stricken face, “No butterflies here, but something is wrong with her…” He turned so Chloe appeared in the corner for Ladybug to see.

“She’s having some sort of panic attack by the looks of it.” Luka muttered, “I’ve seen Jules have them enough times.”

“We’re on our way kitty.” Ladybug smiled at him and hung up.

Chat starred at the blank receiver for a moment before tucking the baton back into his belt and hesitantly approaching the girl in the corner,

“Chloe, Luka says he thinks you’re having a panic attack do you think that sounds about right?” His voice was quiet and slow, Chloe seemed to shake further, each tremor becoming more intense. “Come on Chloe, it’s hardly the end of the world. Your actions have akumatised people before and we’ve always protected you.”

\---

Somewhere in the back of her mind Chloe knew Chat Noir didn’t mean her any harm, she also knew he probably didn’t mean his words to come out as they sounded. The unfortunate reality of her situation, however, meant the rational part of her mind had long been buried by the myriad of other thoughts crowding her head.

She’d done it again.

‘ _One of us._ ’

Only hours after taking Ladybug’s heroes and pinning them against her, she’d done it again.

‘ _One of us._ ’

Why were they protecting her? Maybe they weren’t. Maybe they were keeping her away from the safety of the police so the akuma could take their anger out. Maybe they’d finally given up all hope for her and she was getting what she deserved. Chloe’s legs curled underneath her, muscles tensing to run. Could she even run from the heroes of Paris?

‘ _One of us._ ’

Would the police even protect her? Would her Father when they found out exactly what she’d done to their beloved saviours?

“ _ **Chloe**_.” Cool hands wrapped around her wrists pulling them from her skull. She screamed, thrashing away from the touch, but the hands stayed firm. “Chloe open your eyes.” The unfamiliar voice commanded. Her eyes slowly edged their way open, tears continuing to pour uncontrollably. “Right good. I’m Luka do you remember me?” The off-blue eyes stared into hers, the realisation dawned on her slowly at first before flooding.

“You were Viperion.” Was that even audible?

“Yeah I guess I was.”

‘ _One of us._ ’ Chloe hadn’t even noticed the voice had disappeared until it came back. Its return screwing her eyes shut again as she fought against Luka’s grip.

“Can you tell me about the room?” The room? Strange must be a requirement to becoming a hero. Her eyes opening again if only to question the boy.

“What an utterly ridiculous question.” She saw the smirk playing on his lips and quickly pushed down the desire to blush.

“Well tell me anyway.”

\---

“Do you think you can help her?” Ladybug had asked as she carried him across the rooftops of Paris.

“I can try.” He replied honestly, “Everyone’s are different, since I don’t know much about Chloe, I might not be able to do anything.”

“I guess the better question is _will you help her_?” His eyebrows drew together, “She did nearly get you akumatised, you’re allowed to be angry.” Luka chuckled lowly,

“It wasn’t losing Viperion that made my temper slip, it was Alya.” Ladybug lowered them onto the street, placing Luka down gently, “She was saying some not very nice things about a friend of mine, and I suppose I just didn’t want to hear it.” He rubbed the back of his neck with his hand, embarrassed by the trivial nature of it all. “So, in short, I _will_ help Chloe Bourgeoir.” He nodded determinedly. Ladybug smiled producing a key from her yoyo and opening a door allowing him to step inside, closing the door behind him.

“Where is she?” Ladybug asked Chat who was sitting seemingly without a care on a breakfast stool, he shot a thumb to the corner of the room where a very pitiful looking Chloe Bourgeoir sat huddled.

“Do you know what her trigger was?” Luka couldn’t take his eyes of the girl, her melody cried out to him, the sound alone nearly bringing him to tears.

“She was watching the conference. I think I went too far… I told her she wasn’t a good person.” Luka frowned at that.

“Chat!” Ladybug scolded.

“What?! She destroyed our team my Lady! She’s the reason we lost Master Fu! She isn’t a good person.” Luka could feel the emotions growing in the room, his own anger beginning to grow toward Chat’s words, so he refocused on Chloe.

Luka edged toward the girl slowly, “I wouldn’t do that Luka, if you get too close, she’ll hit you.” He rolled his eyes, making sure to stop his approach at every flinch, not something he assumed Chat had done.

Luka squinted, he could see Chloe’s mouth moving, she was repeating something hundreds of times over, he turned his head to get a better angle for his ears when a flash of red caught his eye.

“How long has she been bleeding?” The voices stopped behind him, his own coming out unfamiliar and distant.

“Bleeding? She’s not bleeding.” Chat replied with certainty,

“Look in her hair Chat.” Ladybug’s voice was small, a quick look back to the heroes showed a shocked look on Chat Noir’s face and a look of horror on Ladybugs.

“I don’t know… I didn’t know her nails could do that…”

‘ _Dammit._ ’ Luka thought, he didn’t want to touch Chloe in any way against her will, especially in this state, but if her nails continued to dig into her like that… he shook his head, banishing the thought of blood.

He moved swiftly, taking her wrists and abruptly pinning them above her head, his stomach twisting at the sight of her mangled nails.

“ _ **Chloe**_.” He stated firmly, he could feel her erratic pulse through her skin, her song crying out further at his touch. “Chloe open your eyes.” He watched as she slowly opened her eyes. He wasn’t sure if she could actually see through the tears, but it was progress. “Right good. I’m Luka do you remember me?” He made sure to positively reinforce her to begin to counteract Chat’s words. He introduced himself slowly, outside of her akumatised form, he didn’t think they’d ever officially met.

“You were Viperion.” He winced at his mistake; he’d assumed she couldn’t remember her time as Miracle Queen. He saw the panic begin to grip her again, her lips beginning to repeat her inaudible mantra.

“Yeah I guess I was.” Her eyes became unfocused as she began to fight against his grip again, he didn’t release her, he couldn’t let her see the blood. He needed to distract her.

“Can you tell me about the room?” Her eyes refocused, filling with confusion.

“What an utterly ridiculous question.” He smirked at her, there was the Chloe Bourgeoir he’d heard about. Sure, she was a complete mess of stained hair and mascara tinted tears, but it was a step in the right direction.

“Well tell me anyway.” He needed her to focus on anything other than whatever was going on inside her head. Her eyes wandered around the room for a moment before resting on Ladybug and Chat Noir, her melody becoming more sincere and heart wrenching. “Hey guys, would you mind waiting outside?” He turned his head towards the heroes.

“I’ll go get her some clothes.” Ladybug smiled sadly, taking Chat’s arm and dragging him out with her. Almost immediately he could feel Chloe’s pulse slow.

\---

“I hate this room.” She turned up her nose in disgust as the boy chuckled, “What else is there to say? It’s dark and smells funny, not to mention the utterly horrific décor. I mean who can be rocked to sleep by puke green.” Even if she didn’t immediately realise, her incoherent rambling subsided the panic within her, the invisible hand around her throat loosening its grip.

“Well if this room is so below standards, how would you improve them?” She peeked through the corner of her eye at Luka and was taken aback by how intense his gaze was, it was almost like he was invested in what she was saying.

“Well the whole mould and vomit would need to go and replaced with something more comforting. For a room as small as this you’d need something bright, I’m thinking blue for the walls. And the carpet would need removing with immediate effect, I mean think of all the gross stuff that’s living in there.” She shuddered at the thought, “I want to say grey for the new one?”

“I thought we were going light?” Luka questioned, tilting his head in curiosity a smirk playing on his lips again.

“Light grey obviously, anything lighter would pick up stains something terrible.” She scolded at his ignorance.

“Oh of course.” He was definitely hiding a chuckle from her now

“Something funny Couffaine?” Chloe raised an eyebrow in his direction

“Nothing. I just figured you’d pick yellow and white.” He joked as her jaw dropped at his stupidity, “After all it is your signature style.”

“WHITE! In a place like this are you insane! I’d be hesitant to give them white on even their plates. You could never manage a hotel.” She felt his grip loosen on his wrists as he let out the tumble of giggles he’d been holding back.

“No, I don’t suppose I could… Is that what you want to do? Take after your dad?” His eyes pierced into her again

“Why do you care.” Her tone turned harsh again, her heart panging slightly as the boy’s smile fell.

“Chloe your heart is screaming.” He muttered plainly, the words cutting off any remark she had loaded. He smiled sadly at her confused expression, “I’ve never been very good with words, or people.” He sighed before continuing, “But what I am good at is hearing people’s heart songs. They tell me things about people I’m not sure they’d want me to know, how people really feel, the kinds of people they really are inside.” He looked into her eyes.

“And mine is screaming?” Chloe didn’t sound like herself, there was no confidence or sarcasm in her voice, it was desperate.

“Yeah… It’s what happens when someone is at their limit emotionally. You know I should hate you, but I don’t.” She looked down in shame her eyebrows drawing together.

“You really should, Viperion-“

“No.” He interrupted her, “This isn’t about Viperion.” He laughed honestly, she looked back up to see him smiling. “I should hate you because you made my sister cry. Multiple times.”

“Then why don’t you?” She asked in earnest.

“Because with a song like that? Hurting is all you know how to do, to yourself and anyone else. Or at least that’s what I’m choosing to believe. The Chloe Bourgeoir that made Juleka cry, isn’t the Chloe Bourgeoir in front of me. This Chloe is broken and has the choice to rebuild herself better.” The sincerity in her voice brought on a new wave of tears.

“You think I can do that?” Her eyes were hopeful and pleading.

“I think you are capable of being exceptional.” She hadn’t noticed Ladybug re-enter, her body stiffening at the sound of the hero’s gentle voice. “Even if Chat doesn’t.” Chloe chuckled; Ladybug clearly not happy with her kitty, “I bought an overnight bag, and some stuff for her nails.” Chloe looked between Ladybugs solemn expression and Luka’s wince as Ladybug placed the bag on the bed.

“My nails?” She tried to look up at her hands, but Luka pulled them out of sight.

“During your panic attack you managed to hurt yourself, I can’t see how badly,” Chloe frowned at the boys words. “Try and relax okay?” He slowly released her wrists.

Chloe looked at her hands for a few moments in confusion, her brain not quite processing what she was seeing, she could have sworn she had her nails painted yellow the other day not red. The realisation dawned on her.

“I paid good money for these.” She whimpered, and then she added to the vomit covered floor.


	3. Step 1: Acceptance

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Ladybug and Chat Noir find their akumatised heroes and Chloe realises something important for her redemption.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Not as long as I wanted to make this update, but I felt more compelled to post anything rather than wait for more inspiration!
> 
> Let me know what you think :)

“You’re sure about this?” Luka asked, hesitantly taking the hexagonal box.

“If we fail at leading them away, you’ll need it.” Ladybug assured as the bright light shone from within the box, “The horse grants the power of transportation. All you need to do is picture a place in your mind and Voyage will take you there.”

“I do hope you’ve found someone more noteworthy this time Miss Ladybug.” The small horse announced rudely after seeing Luka.

“Kaalki, this is Luka, lead guitarist and writer for the band Kitty Section.” The horse seemed to nod, accepting his status as satisfactory. He took out the glasses where they transformed into a pair of aviators to better in keep with his style and he positioned them into his hair. “I trust you not to use it unless absolutely necessary, do you have anywhere in mind?” She asked hesitant to be giving over Max’s miraculous when he was currently rampaging.

“I have a couple of ideas. I’ll make sure one of us has access to the akuma alert app, so we know when it’s safe to return.” He nodded in understanding, as Ladybug looked anxiously at the bathroom door where Chloe was rather begrudgingly taking a shower. “I’ll keep her safe I promise.”

“I know you will.” Ladybug’s smile was slightly sad, less of doubt and more shame. It was obvious to him that she hadn’t expected Chloe’s outburst, but he could tell she was beating herself up over it.

“Are you sure I can’t just borrow the dragon?” Chat grumbled from the corner of the room where he’d been cleaning the carpet, penance he assumed, for not noticing Chloe’s injuries. Ladybug simply scowled and tapped her foot in response.

It wasn’t long before a faraway crash could be heard from further in the city, Ladybug looked anxious as Chat finished his cleaning duties. “We need to go my lady.” The cat hero’s eyes were sincere, Ladybug nodded hurrying out the door with Chat in her wake. Luka breathed a sigh of relief at their absence lying back on the bed. He had already warned his Mom, Juleka and Rose of the city, assuring them he was safe, but it was too risky to get back to Liberty; a mostly true lie.

\---

Chloe spent far too long in that shower for her liking, the amount of dirt she could see between the tiles making her shudder, but the pink tinted water made the panic rise in her. The shower was then the lessor of two personal hells. She thanked whatever god was listening that Ladybug had been considerate to pack some of her own toiletries for the brief stay, she couldn’t bear the thought of the three-in-one shampoo, conditioner and shower gel the motel supplied.

Upon leaving the tepid water she was again thankful for a towel from the grand Paris and her own loungewear. Her faded yellow loose-fitting t-shirt atop her most comfortable underwear and softest grey cotton trousers, she made a note to thank Sabrina, no doubt in her mind the orange haired girl was responsible for her personal items.

Hair tightly wrapped up to dry and slippers on she waited until she heard the door close and heroes leave before emerging,

“That shower is disgusting. Utterly disgusting.” She allowed Luka a brief look of surprise at her very normal appearance. “But better to be clean I suppose.” The girl paled as she looked at her nails, not quite able to get the sight of blood out of her head.

“Come on princess take a seat,” He patted the bed next to him, “Lucky for you I was on the way back from work for a night in with the family, so I have nail polish.” Her eyes narrowed.

“What kind of family night involves nail polish?” The brief encounters she’d had with ‘family nights’ often consisted of fancy dresses and expensive restaurants.

“My family’s.” He smiled, his voice soft and full of the understanding that this wasn’t something she was familiar with. “As I was saying, won’t you let me fix the Princess’s nails?” Chloe was about to disagree when the thought dawned on her she’d never painted her own nails… or anyone else’s… The few sleepovers with Sabrina always involved Chloe being the centre of attention.

“If you insist.” She pointed her nose into the air before taking a seat, “Do you even know what you’re doing?” Her eyes squinted slightly; Luka simply wiggled his own fingers for her. Although chipped on the tips, the job was decent enough, she had vague recollections that he was a musician accounting for the rough edges. “Acceptable.”

\---

“It doesn’t look like the swarm got anyone else…” Ladybug spoke into Chat’s earpiece from her vantage point, “I can make most of them out… But I can’t see Alya or Kagami anywhere…” He could hear her concern through the waver in her voice.

“I have eyes on them both. They seem to be fighting each other?” Although it was odd to have multiple akumas to begin with, the thought of the same side fighting seemed even stranger.

“Luka said that the three of them were arguing when this all started, I guess part of Scarlet’s Moth’s terms allowed for this.” He hummed in thought. “Lucky charm!” He heard the call and saw a brief flash of light from across the square, “Nothing’s lighting up…” He could hear her hope dwindling quickly.

“What have you got my Lady? I might be able to think of something?” A brief chuckle passed through the line.

“I have a bamboo training sword.” Chat’s leather ears pricked up.

“It’s Kagami.” He stated with certainty, “She had one on her back for practice, maybe it’s telling you where her akuma is!” He finished excitedly.

“So we aim for Kagami and Alya first, right.” There was still hesitation in her voice, “But what if the others join in? We can’t fight so many! And we have no idea what powers they might have!”

“I know you were against it, but what if we used Snake Noir again?” According to Master Fu, merging miraculous was extremely dangerous and was only to be used in emergencies and as infrequently as possible.

“But you only just used it this morning? You could get sick or hurt! Then what would I do?” The pain in her voice was like a dagger to his heart.

“Okay.” He agreed begrudgingly, “We stick together and head for Kagami.”

They only made it about halfway to the square when the crimson butterflies took to the sky projecting Scarlet Moth to the people of Paris. There was something eerie about his appearance this time, the edges of his mask blurred into the surrounding sky, the sides of the picture out of focus, framing his face.

“Ladybug and Chat Noir, I have taken your allies for the second time today. I let them fight each other, can’t you see what your meddling has done to such sweet innocent children.” His voice matched his cruel smirk. “Why don’t you hand over your miraculous and I’ll let your friends go.”

“Something doesn’t seem right Chat, he looks all fuzzy…” Chat nodded absentmindedly also focusing on the projection, “And having them fight each other isn’t his style, on Hero’s Day everything was so meticulously planned, this seems so-“

“Sloppy.” He finished, “Like he didn’t want to waste such a chance to akumatise all the heroes of Paris again but hadn’t thought past the initial move.”

“And If we’re right that the akuma powering him up is also Mayura, it would stand to reason that his powers are weak as she herself is sick.” The image of Hawkmoth and a frail Mayura escaping stuck in his memory. “We have a chance here kitty.” She looked at him for the first time all day with hope, enough to fuel him to fight his troubled friends.

\---

“You never answered me by the way.” Luka was on her second hand when he spoke, Chloe getting confused by the question. “I asked about what you wanted to do. You seem to know a lot about hotels, do you want to follow after your Father?”

“I want to be an architect.” The words fell out before she could stop them, aside telling her parents who had been extremely disappointed at the time, no one knew about her dreams. “I mean I want to work in fashion obviously,” A fake laugh filled the silence, “How embarrassing would it be for Style Queen’s only child to come out a builder.” She couldn’t meet the boy’s eyes out of shame.

“I figured from your speech earlier you’d be more into interior design.” He shrugged as if she hadn’t spoken her blatant lie.

“I like interiors too, I think I’d get a degree in architecture then when my name is out there, take night classes on interior decorating so I could make entire buildings from the ground to completion.” Her voice was delicate, full of anxiety of the imminent rejection.

“Chloe Bourgeoir attending a night class? Now that I have to see.” She looked at him in surprise, his own eyes fixed on her nails.

“But as I was saying, I’m going to work in fashion. I was just telling you what an architect who wanted to branch into interior design would likely do.” She saw the smirk on his lowered head and couldn’t help but feel her cheeks warm. Why was she telling him this? Wasn’t he considered the enemy?

One of us.

The voice crept back in, whispering at the edge of her subconscious, she took a deep breath trying to push it back into the depths. Her dignity too low to take vomiting in front of strangers again.

“Of course. And in this hypothetical scenario, is the architect happy? Night classes are hard when working full time, even regular classes take a strain with part time work.” She could hear the experience in his voice, were those black circles always under his eyes?

“She would be so unbelievably happy.” The blonde mused, a distant smile on her face, “She doesn’t have to worry about public appearances or disappointing her family. She’s just so free.” Luka finished filing her last nail as she stepped down from her daydream.

“Well maybe it’s not too late for her.” He looked at her hopeful, she could only look back with a solemn expression, if only it was that simple. He seemed to take that as enough a cue that the conversation was over. “Unfortunately for you, I’ve only got three colours on me, and none of them quite scream Chloe Bourgeoir.” He produced three small nail polish bottles from his bag, she inspected them one by one. “And nothing in your usual price range I assume.” He followed; Chloe opened her mouth as if to retort but quickly realised he was completely right.

“I assume the black is for you, but your sister doesn’t seem much a pink or red kind of girl.” She mused picking up the bright red and pink shimmer polishes.

“Well if you must know, Jules and I share. Red is for Mom and pink is for Rose.” She raised her eyebrow at him, why had another of her classmates been present for the Couffaine’s family night?

“I’ll make sure to pay her back.” She passed the pink polish to Luka deciding it was the closest to herself, not that it particularly mattered, upon returning home she could always just book another appointment.

“I don’t think she’ll mind you borrowing some.” He chuckled opening the bottle as Chloe grimaced, “Do you want to talk about it?” He didn’t take his eyes off her nails, a fact which comforted her immensely, “About any of it, Miracle Queen, your parents, whatever you have against my sister…” He trailed off. “Sorry. Force of habit.” He looked up momentarily in by way of apology.

“I don’t hold anything against your sister.” She stated firmly, deciding that was the easiest topic to broach, and clearly the one that mattered most to the boy she’d caused pain to that day. “Adrien for the longest time was my only friend, the thought of anyone else sharing his first human moments like a school photo just made something break in me. I guess it wouldn’t have mattered who it was.” She rationalised out.

“And Rose?” He continued, reangling her hand to paint the next nail.

“I think you were right about me.” She followed her voice hollow as the realisation dawned on her, how many of her class had she hurt without even realising in? As the seconds ticked by, she internalised what Chat Noir had told her: Chloe Bourgeoir was not a good person.

“And what do you think about that?” His off blue eyes were looking into hers again, her vision blurry once again but she found herself not as wrapped up in despair as before.

“I think I hate it. I think I hate what I’ve become.” Something about the statement halted her tears and panic, something Luka had said to her during her meltdown burst through the haze. “You said I could rebuild.” A smile ghosted across his lips at the hopeful glint in her eyes. “You said I’m not who I was, that I was broken, and I could rebuild.”

“From the ground to completion, just like our architect friend.” Any sense of dread vanished from her, “I can help if you like, I’m somewhat stuck up when it comes to lost causes.” He chuckled lightly, as she nodded eagerly. “But you have to prove to me that you want this Chloe, because I can promise you if you hurt my sister or her friends again, it will be the last you see of me.”

“You’re my last chance.” She resolved, “I promise.” Satisfied with her response he continued her nails, only having stopped to stop her spiralling she would realise later.


End file.
